Florida basketball guard Denzel Aberdeen will get his day in court soon.
A hearing on Aberdeen’s complaint and request for a temporary injunction is set for Tuesday, Sept. 29, at 10 a.m., with Judge George M. Wright assigned to preside. Aberdeen filed the complaint just under two weeks ago and asked for an expedited hearing because the 2026-27 season is approaching.
At the center of the case is Aberdeen’s bid for a fifth year of eligibility, a fight shared by college athletes across the country. Aberdeen’s filing says the NCAA’s new Division I eligibility rule gives athletes five seasons of competition within a five-year window, and it argues there is no carveout for players who started competing in 2022.
“I don’t dwell on it,” Aberdeen said. “I work each day and prepare for whatever situation I’m going to be put in and try not to think about it too much. That’s really all I can do.”
Aberdeen first enrolled at Florida in 2022. As a freshman, he played in 12 games and logged 40 minutes. He stayed with the Gators for the next two seasons and was part of Florida’s 2024-25 national championship team.
After that, Aberdeen transferred to Kentucky for his senior season, then entered the transfer portal again and returned to Florida this offseason.
Florida had already asked the NCAA for a waiver to restore Aberdeen’s freshman season, but that request was turned down in May. His lawsuit says the earlier football eligibility ruling, which allowed players to appear in as many as four regular-season games and an unlimited number of postseason games, supports his case for another season.
Aberdeen also did not pursue any professional basketball opportunities during the time in question.
“He is exactly who college athletics should be fighting to keep, not keep off,” said attorney Jesse Panuccio, who is representing Aberdeen. “He re-enrolled at the University of Florida to finish his degree. He gave up an opportunity to pursue a professional basketball career because he believed he’d have a chance to compete and finish his collegiate career and education.”
The complaint also says it is arbitrary to count Aberdeen’s 40 freshman minutes as a full season, especially when compared with redshirt exceptions in other sports and eligibility relief for COVID-era athletes, junior-college transfers and former professional players.
Aberdeen’s filing accuses the NCAA of breach of contract and says he is an intended third-party beneficiary of NCAA bylaws.
The NCAA pushed back Monday, Sept. 21, and asked the court to reject Aberdeen’s motion.
“When he entered collegiate sports, he knew the rules: five years to compete in up to four seasons,” the NCAA wrote in its response. “The fact that the NCAA later adopted a more generous framework for future athletes does not entitle Plaintiff to eligibility he was never promised.”
The NCAA also said prior rulings in Florida cut against court involvement in NCAA eligibility decisions.
“Florida law strong discourages this Court from substituting its judgment for that of the NCAA on matters of athletic eligibility,” the motion reads. “Under Florida law, a court may intervene in the internal affairs of a private association only in exceptional circumstances.”
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